By Bill Simons
For many around the world, October 7, 2024, constituted a day of profound significance, a time of sadness, remembrance and polarization. Exactly one year before, Hamas terrorists launched a war of annihilation. Murderous carnage, torture and rape marked Hamas’ surprise attack on kibbutzim, villages, military installations and a music festival in southern Israel. Employing social media, the terrorists recorded their exaltation at the slaughter in grotesque images and sounds. The massacre erased the lives of 1,139 children, elderly, invalids, women and men. Another 254 were taken hostage. The bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, October 7 initiated the Israel-Hamas War. Israel seeks the return of the hostages, the destruction of Hamas and security.
Over the course of the past year, Israel’s actions have elicited support and protest in the United States and throughout the world. Israel itself is divided over the conduct and goals of the war as well, as the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Resurgent antisemitism from the left and right has marred the social fabric of America and Europe. Ancient shibboleths about powerful Jewish cabals resurfaced; new canards depicted Jews as genocidal racists. Controversy often centered around questions of proportionality.
Hamas built a deep and complex tunnel system over Gaza residences, schools and hospitals, provoking Israeli attacks that claimed civilian lives. The Israeli offensive, rooted in the belief that this is an existential conflict to determine if there is a future for Israel and the Jewish people, has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Hezbollah and Houthi joined Hamas’ crusade to obliterate the Jewish state. In the aftermath of Iran’s massive missile attack on Tel Aviv, a tense world waited upon Israel’s response, one that some feared could spiral into a third world war. Rallies and protests, political debate, religious services, threats and introspective inventories of conscience marked October 7, 2024, the anniversary of war’s onset.
Former president and current Republican aspirant Donald Trump observed October 7 by visiting the Queens, NY, grave of Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson. With her Jewish husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, planted a pomegranate tree to honor the memory of those killed during the initial Hamas attack on southern Israel.
In the days preceding October 7, 2024, I found myself embroiled in a heated debate within my labor union, the Oneonta Chapter of UUP (United University Professions). My attachment to UUP is strong and enduring, with 30-plus years of activism under my belt, encompassing 16 years as chapter president and current service as secretary. Debate juxtaposing Israel security and free speech roiled the deliberations of the October 2 UUP Oneonta Executive Board. Dr. George Hovis, distinguished teaching professor, Department of English, submitted an open letter requesting consideration of its publication. His message took as its point of departure remarks that Tanya Reyes, president, Class of 2024, started to deliver, but was prevented from so doing during a portion of the 2024 SUNY Oneonta commencement. I am strong proponent of free speech. However, I found Dr. Hovis’ commentary to constitute a call for the termination of the Jewish state of Israel rather than an argument for free speech and so stated. Moreover, I pointed out that Dr. Hovis’ call for peace contained no provisions for the return of hostages, dismantling terrorist groups or the future safety and security of Israel. Several friends and colleagues disagreed. In the end, we compromised, acquiescing to publication of Dr. Hovis’ piece with accompaniment of a critique by Professor Emeritus of Sociology Edward Wesnofske, a founder of UUP Oneonta and of State UUP.
Professor Wesnofske’s rebuttal provided several telling observations. Commenting on Dr. Hovis endorsement of disinvestment in Israel, Professor Wesnofske wrote, “The Boycott-Divest-Sanction (BDS) movement has as its end goal the replacement of the State of Israel with a majority Palestinian Arab state (‘one state solution’). This runs counter to U.S., international, and institutional endorsement (including UUP, NYSUT and AFT) of the ‘two state solution’ as the only road to true peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. In echoing the sounds of the BDS movement with respect to divestment, the controversial inference is that ‘the message of peace’ involves the elimination of the State of Israel.”
Jews around the world attended religious services on October 7. In Marblehead, MA, my son. Joe, a synagogue president, participated in a collaborative program involving several temples and attended by approximately 400 people. Wearing the familiar kippah bestowed during my youth, I joined 30-plus fellow Jews at my Conservative synagogue, Temple Beth El, in Oneonta, NY. The service, formally designated “Temple Beth El’s October 7 Memorial Service: To remember those we lost, to pray for those who are missing, and to stand with Israel,” started at 7 pm. Planning for the program entailed discussion of security issues, and the announcement of the service was limited to members of the congregation and their families.
It was a beautiful service. A formal welcome, candle lighting, Yizkor burnished by a thoughtful reflection; the Kaddish, as well as prayers for martyrs, the departed and Israel; poetry; formal remarks; music from piano, flute and voice that spoke to the soul; and a singing of “Hatikvah” framed the gathering. The atmosphere mixed elements of warmth, support, apprehension and sadness. Speakers raised profound points: one asked us to ponder the distinction that scholar Elliot Cosgrove makes between Genesis Jews whose identity centers on the beauty of divine creation and Exodus Jews who define themselves by misfortune and persecution. Subsequently, the “Prayer for Israel’s Soldiers” beseeched that: “May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down... / May the Holy One preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from / every plague and illness, and send blessing and success in their every endeavor.” A gentile visitor would have understood the centrality of Israel to the Jewish experience.
At the end of the service, I felt renewed clarity and calm. However, as I was departing, a fellow worshipper addressed himself – and me – simultaneously: “I wish more had been said about innocent Palestinians. They will hate us for generations to come.” I opened the door and walked into the darkness.